


Lovebirds

by ardentmuse



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dating, Established Relationship, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Kissing, Light Angst, Love, Love Confessions, Promises, Romance, Sorry Charlie but I may have moved on, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 21:17:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20627684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentmuse/pseuds/ardentmuse
Summary: Tumblr Request: Almost 2k celebration: Talbott Winger or Bill Weasley with 3 & 48. I would love to see what you can write for this, especially with how depressed I am right now over the sudden passing of our youngest dog. Congrats on almost 2k followers! And thank you for sharing your amazing stories with us.





	Lovebirds

You were contentedly eating your lunch in the courtyard when Rowan flicked open a copy of the Daily Prophet as had been your routine since the start of the school year. Rowan summarized for you the latest news. You listened for hints about the whereabouts of your brother, and together you enjoyed the good weather before Scotland became an uninhabitable slog of snow and bitter chill.

You took a bite of your sandwich and looked up as Rowan continued to read the sports report when something on the front page caught your eye.

It wasn’t the moving photo of the Minister’s latest trade meeting with the President of MACUSA or the striking headline about the current dittany’s shortages impact on potions prices.

No, it was something much smaller, a single line of start letters that sat just below the large script that read “The Daily Prophet”: today’s date.

At the sight of it, your stomach turned cold and you suddenly weren’t hungry anymore.

“I have to go,” you mumbled as you abandoned your food to the cobblestone and scooped up your bags. Rowan looked up from the paper, shocked at your flustered departure. But you didn’t have time to explain. You were sprinting out of the courtyard without even a nod in goodbye. Rowan could only shout at your back that they'd bring the things you left behind to your dorm as you made your way deftly out through the castle grounds.

You were completely winded by the time you made it to the Owlery. The silence of the normally squawking creatures let you know that indeed Talbott was finding refuge among the birds. Of all the things your boyfriend was, on some days he was rather predictable.

As you entered, you saw only the tall expanse of his back, straight and strong clocked in his house robes. His hair was well slicked, brushing lightly at his collar due to lack of clipping. A small flock of owls surrounded him as he cupped his hands in front of him, holding what you assumed to be birdseed. Your own owl was among them, perching herself happily upon Talbott’s shoulder, like she could sense your love for him upon his skin. Inside her beak was a small golden chain that she was pulling from his neck. You knew that at the other end of that chain sat a long white feather, the presence of which was the whole reason why today was so hard.

“I’m here,” you said as you caught your breath, taking hesitant steps into the space that was in some ways a sanctuary for Talbott. You weren’t sure how welcomed you were to intrude upon Talbott’s own personal memorial service. “I’m here if you want me. And I’m sorry.”

When Talbott turned, you expected the small water lines that ran down his face, glistening in the midday light that cascaded in through the domed roof of the tower. You did not expect that where those lines met his lips you’d find a smile, true and pure and directed at you.

“Hi, dear,” he said, lifting his fingers to scratch lightly at the neck of your bird. She nuzzled into Talbott’s hair. You’d dare say she was as enamored as you were with the boy.

You hesitated, “Are you… okay?”

“No,” Talbott said honestly, “But I will be.”

He offered you another smile, and you felt it weird that on the anniversary of losing his parents, he seemed to be more interested in comforting you.

As if sensing your confusion, he beckoned you forward. Soon, you were in the crux of his arm, the remaining birdseed upon his fingers scattered into the corners of the room. Talbott gently guided you to the oriel to peer upon the beautiful Scottish countryside and Hogsmeade just a mile beyond.

You weren’t sure what to do as his arms engulfed you from behind. He rested his chin upon your shoulder as you looked out at the beauty of the vast world you called home, a world in which Talbott, at such a young age, had to fight tooth and nail to simply survive, a world that was as cold and evil and unyielding as it was thrilling and magical and tender.

Talbott offered a light kiss to your jaw as he hummed in contentment.

“I didn’t expect you to be so… pleasant today,” you said, hoping your words didn’t offend.

Talbott only laughed, “A year ago and I wouldn’t have been.”

He pulled away from you to rest his hands upon the windowsill, supporting himself as his gaze moved upward to take in the cirrus clouds above.

After a moment, you noticed tears were rolling down his face once more. He turned to look at you and when he spoke, his voice was not laced with any of the sadness you assumed still filled his soul.

“When I think about my parents, I don’t remember many details. Sure, I remember my mom teaching me how to fly and I remember that night that—“ Talbott took a breath before continuing. “But the mundane memories aren’t there, just this vague impression, like an aura. When I think about us, about our life together, I just see and feel this warmth. Love, if that makes sense.”

You nodded and moved closer to the window yourself, not sure if you were strong enough to maintain his soulful gaze.

Talbott continued, “My parents loved each other so much. They sacrificed everything to be together and to make the world a better place for me. On this day for the past ten years or so, that absence was all I could think about. When my parents died, they took that warmth with them.”

You were listening but your eyes were focused on the emerald of the rolling hills. Talbott’s long fingers tapped at your chin, gently coaxing your eyes back towards him. His face was close now, just inches away so that you could see all the individual hairs of his long arched brows, pulled together in seriousness.

“I was just shrouded in darkness. I was dropped into a cave,” he paused, scanning your face for something you weren’t sure of. You bit your lip a little as you took him in and his fingers reached upon the windowsill to remove your grip, interlocking your fingers as he pulled your hand up to his chest.

His next words were soft, sure, and slow.

“And you were my flashlight.”

A single tear rolled down his nose as he leaned forward to kiss your knuckles.

“I love you,” you blurted as you felt yourself crying in turn. Your boyfriend was not one for many words, opting instead to defuse his emotions with a pun or a strong lift of his eyebrow. But this speech, this piece of his heart open and on the table before you, was the last piece of the puzzle you needed to see the picture before you. And what a beautiful picture it was to love this man, to envision a future in which you two might fight for your love and your family the same way his parents did.

Talbott pulled his eyes from your palm to meet your gaze. He was smiling once more, though that annoyed sort of cheeky smile that was such a staple of his face.

“Just like you to steel my thunder,” he said before kissing your nose. “I love you, too.”

The words flowed so easily from his mouth like he had said them millions of time, not the nervous sort of rambling you’d expect from the first sharing of such a sentiment between you. But then your mind processed what he meant. He had been planning to tell you today that he loved you. Maybe it was the millionth time he had said it, only the first he had let it reach your ears.

You leaned in to kiss him on the lips properly, running your fingers through the hairs at the base of his neck and tugging yourself taut against his chest. His arms wasted not a single moment in grabbing at your hips, holding you steady as he leaned you back. Talbott wouldn’t want anyone else to know, but you were always amazed by just how adept he was with his lips, his tongue, his hands, his eagle-like precision carrying into even his affection for you.

Just as he started to nip at your lips, to press you against the stone of the wall, he pulled away. A third of his smiles found his face, the one he gave in triumph, when he knew he had flustered you wholly.

And flustered you were. Your lips were puffy and swollen, your heart pounding at even just the memory of his tongue dancing with your own, and your mind a fog with love and desire for him.

You hadn’t even opened your eyes yet when he began talking again.

“What do you say to a date tonight? We two lovebirds take a flight around town, have dinner, enjoy each other? Reclaim today as something good?”

“I’d like that,” you said as Talbott took your hand to rejoin the rest of the school in the daily ritual of classes and study sessions, clubs and dinners.

Talbott smiled, “I think my mum would, too.”

Only then did you notice the new weight upon your neck, the delicate chain of gold that softly scratched at your collar bone, upon which sat a long white feather of a woman whom you might never get the pleasure of meeting but whose love and care you knew too well.

**Author's Note:**

> https://ardentmuse.tumblr.com/post/187676120731/almost-2k-celebration-talbott-winger-or-bill


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